Green Bay Packers star Clay Matthews blasted the NFL on Sunday after receiving a controversial roughing the quarterback penalty in Sunday’s game, saying the league is “getting soft.”

Matthews made a tackle on Washington Redskins quarterback Alex Smith late in the third quarter of the Packers’ 31-17 loss. Matthews appeared to have made a common football play, wrapping Smith around the torso and tackling him to the ground for a sack. However, the linebacker was penalized for landing on Smith with his body weight.

Matthews, who received a similar penalty for tackling Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback Kirk Cousins in last week’s tie, sounded off about the controversial call when asked about it after the game.

“Unfortunately this league's going in a direction I think a lot of people don't like. I think they're getting soft,” he told the media, according to the Green Bay Press Gazette. “The only thing hard about this league is the fines they levy down on guys like me who play the game hard.”

The NFL has defended against the backlash stating that what Matthews did was a clear violation of the rules.